Phil Hill F1 Records & Statistics

Explore Phil Hill F1 records and statistics across a Formula 1 career that produced 48 official Grand Prix starts, three victories, 16 podium finishes, six pole positions, six fastest laps and the 1961 Drivers’ World Championship. The American achieved every Formula 1 victory, podium, pole position and fastest lap of his career with Ferrari.

Hill made 31 official Grand Prix starts for Ferrari between 1958 and 1962. His Ferrari record includes three victories, 16 podium finishes, six pole positions, six fastest laps, 96 race-result points and the 1961 Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship.

Phil Hill Formula 1 career statistics

Phil Hill competed in the Formula 1 World Championship from 1958, with later entries extending into 1966. His career included Ferrari, Maserati, Cooper, ATS and Lotus machinery, while his major Formula 1 achievements were concentrated during his years with the Scuderia.

His official Formula 1 record includes 48 Grand Prix starts, three victories, 16 podium finishes, six pole positions, six fastest laps, 98 race-result points and one Drivers’ World Championship.

Phil Hill’s Formula 1 debut

Hill made his Formula 1 World Championship debut at the 1958 French Grand Prix at Reims, driving a Maserati. He finished seventh in his first championship appearance.

His relationship with Ferrari soon became the defining element of his Formula 1 career, beginning later during the same season.

Phil Hill joins Ferrari

Hill made his first Formula 1 World Championship start for Ferrari at the 1958 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. He subsequently competed for the Scuderia at Monza and in Morocco before becoming a full-time Ferrari Formula 1 driver in 1959.

Those opening Ferrari appearances immediately produced significant results, including podium finishes at the Italian and Moroccan Grands Prix.

Phil Hill’s first Ferrari podium

Hill scored his first Formula 1 podium at the 1958 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Driving for Ferrari, he finished third behind Tony Brooks and Ferrari team-mate Mike Hawthorn.

Hill also recorded the fastest lap of the race, beginning a Formula 1 fastest-lap record that would ultimately consist of six fastest laps, all achieved with Ferrari.

Phil Hill and Ferrari’s 1958 championship campaign

Hill joined Ferrari during a season in which Mike Hawthorn was fighting for the Drivers’ World Championship. At the season-ending Moroccan Grand Prix, Hill finished behind Hawthorn as Ferrari completed its championship campaign.

The experience established Hill within the Ferrari Formula 1 operation ahead of his first full season with the Scuderia in 1959.

Phil Hill’s 1959 Ferrari season

Hill competed throughout the 1959 season with Ferrari and recorded three podium finishes. He finished second at the French and Italian Grands Prix and third in Germany.

Those results helped him finish fourth in the Drivers’ Championship and further established him as one of Ferrari’s leading Formula 1 drivers.

Phil Hill’s first Formula 1 victory

Hill recorded his first Formula 1 victory at the 1960 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Starting from pole position, he won for Ferrari and also recorded the fastest lap.

The result was particularly significant because it became the final Formula 1 World Championship victory for a front-engined Grand Prix car.

Phil Hill’s 1960 Ferrari season

Ferrari faced increasingly strong competition from the rear-engined British teams during 1960, but Hill remained capable of producing competitive results with the Scuderia.

His Monza victory became the highlight of the season and represented the first of the three Formula 1 wins he would record during his career.

Phil Hill and the Ferrari 156 Sharknose

The introduction of the 1.5-litre Formula 1 regulations for 1961 transformed Ferrari’s competitiveness. The Ferrari 156, widely known as the Sharknose because of its distinctive twin air intakes, became the dominant car of the season.

Hill and Ferrari team-mate Wolfgang von Trips emerged as the leading contenders for the Drivers’ World Championship while Ferrari established a substantial advantage in the Constructors’ Championship.

Phil Hill’s 1961 Ferrari World Championship

The 1961 season produced the defining achievement of Hill’s Formula 1 career. He recorded two victories, six podium finishes, five pole positions and two fastest laps while fighting Ferrari team-mate Wolfgang von Trips for the Drivers’ World Championship.

The title battle remained unresolved heading into the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the penultimate round of the season.

Phil Hill wins the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix

Hill’s first victory of the 1961 season came at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Starting from pole position, he won ahead of Ferrari team-mates Wolfgang von Trips, Richie Ginther and Olivier Gendebien.

The result formed part of an extraordinary Ferrari performance in which the Scuderia occupied the first four finishing positions.

Phil Hill’s five pole positions in 1961

Hill demonstrated exceptional qualifying speed during the 1961 season. He secured pole position at the Dutch, Belgian, French, British and German Grands Prix.

Those five poles account for all but one of the six pole positions Hill achieved during his Formula 1 career.

Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips fight for the 1961 title

The Drivers’ Championship developed into an internal Ferrari contest between Hill and Wolfgang von Trips. Both drivers won races during the season, and the championship remained open as Formula 1 arrived at Monza.

Wolfgang von Trips entered the Italian Grand Prix with the championship advantage, while Hill still had the opportunity to take the lead through a strong result at Ferrari’s home race.

Phil Hill wins the 1961 Italian Grand Prix

Hill won the 1961 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, finishing ahead of Dan Gurney and Bruce McLaren. The victory was his second of the season and the third and final Formula 1 win of his career.

The result also secured the Drivers’ World Championship for Hill, making him the first American driver to win the Formula 1 title.

The tragedy of the 1961 Italian Grand Prix

Hill’s championship victory at Monza came in tragic circumstances. Ferrari team-mate and title rival Wolfgang von Trips was involved in a fatal accident during the opening stages of the race, with spectators also losing their lives.

The tragedy overshadowed both Hill’s Grand Prix victory and his achievement of becoming Formula 1 World Champion.

Phil Hill becomes Formula 1 World Champion

Hill’s victory at Monza secured the 1961 Drivers’ World Championship. Under the historical scoring system used that season, only a specified number of results counted towards the official championship classification.

The title remains the only Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship of Hill’s career and the central achievement of his time with Ferrari.

Phil Hill and Ferrari’s first Constructors’ Championship

The 1961 season also delivered Ferrari’s first Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship. The Ferrari 156 won five of the eight World Championship Grands Prix during the year as the Scuderia established itself as the dominant constructor.

Hill’s title therefore formed part of a championship double for Ferrari, with the team securing both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ crowns.

Why Phil Hill did not race in the 1961 United States Grand Prix

The United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen was the final round of the 1961 season, but Ferrari did not participate following the tragedy at Monza.

As a result, Hill did not have the opportunity to compete in his home Grand Prix as the newly crowned Formula 1 World Champion.

Phil Hill Ferrari F1 statistics

Hill made 31 official Formula 1 Grand Prix starts for Ferrari between 1958 and 1962. His Ferrari record includes three victories, 16 podium finishes, six pole positions, six fastest laps, 96 race-result points and one Drivers’ World Championship.

Every Formula 1 victory, podium finish, pole position and fastest lap achieved by Hill came while driving Ferrari machinery.

Phil Hill’s Ferrari victories

Hill won three Formula 1 World Championship Grands Prix for Ferrari. His first came at the 1960 Italian Grand Prix, followed by victories in Belgium and Italy during his championship-winning 1961 season.

Two of Hill’s three career victories therefore came at Monza, including the race that secured his World Championship.

Phil Hill wins, podiums and pole positions

Hill completed his Formula 1 career with three victories, 16 podium finishes and six pole positions. All of those results were achieved with Ferrari.

His qualifying record peaked during 1961, when he recorded five pole positions in seven Ferrari Grand Prix starts.

Phil Hill fastest laps

Hill recorded six fastest laps during his Formula 1 career, all while driving for Ferrari. They came at the 1958 and 1959 Italian Grands Prix, the 1960 Belgian and Italian Grands Prix and the 1961 French and German Grands Prix.

For a broader historical view of race fastest laps by driver and constructor, visit the F1 Fastest Laps & Race Performance Records database.

Phil Hill’s 1962 Ferrari season

Hill remained with Ferrari for the 1962 Formula 1 season. The Scuderia was no longer able to reproduce the dominance of the previous year as rival teams developed more competitive machinery.

Hill nevertheless recorded three podium finishes in the opening part of the season, finishing third in the Netherlands, second in Monaco and third in Belgium.

Phil Hill’s final Ferrari Grand Prix

Hill’s final Formula 1 start for Ferrari came at the 1962 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. He finished 11th in what proved to be the closing Formula 1 chapter of a Ferrari relationship that had produced a World Championship and three Grand Prix victories.

After leaving Ferrari, Hill continued his Formula 1 career with other constructors.

Phil Hill F1 career by constructor

Hill’s official Formula 1 starts were spread across Ferrari, Maserati, Cooper, ATS and Lotus machinery. The constructor table above separates those periods so that his Ferrari achievements remain distinct from the other stages of his Grand Prix career.

Ferrari accounted for 31 of Hill’s 48 official starts and 96 of his 98 race-result points, as well as every victory, podium, pole position and fastest lap of his Formula 1 career.

Phil Hill after Ferrari

After his Ferrari period ended, Hill competed with ATS and Lotus machinery during 1963 before racing for Cooper in 1964.

These later seasons did not produce further podium finishes or victories, although Hill continued to compete in Formula 1 while maintaining an extensive career in sports car racing.

Phil Hill’s later Formula 1 entries

Hill’s final official Formula 1 race starts came during the 1964 season with Cooper. He later appeared on Formula 1 entry lists again in 1966 but did not add to his official Grand Prix start total.

This distinction explains why historical sources can show a later final Formula 1 season or a larger number of entries than Hill’s 48 official race starts.

Phil Hill season-by-season F1 statistics

The season-by-season table provides a chronological view of Hill’s Formula 1 career, beginning with his 1958 appearances and covering his championship-winning Ferrari period, his subsequent seasons with other constructors and later entries.

Because Hill competed during Formula 1’s historical dropped-score era, the points shown in the statistical tables represent points actually earned from race results rather than only the smaller total that may have counted towards a season’s official championship classification.

Phil Hill and historical Formula 1 points

Formula 1 used dropped-score regulations during Hill’s career, meaning that only a specified number of a driver’s best results could count towards the final Drivers’ Championship standings.

For example, Hill earned 38 points from individual race results during his 1961 championship season, while 34 counted towards his official championship classification. The statistics database preserves race-result points and championship position separately so that the totals remain internally consistent.

Phil Hill’s place in Ferrari history

Hill occupies an important place in Ferrari history as the driver who delivered the Scuderia’s 1961 Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship during the successful Ferrari 156 era.

His Ferrari record consists of 31 official starts, three victories, 16 podium finishes, six pole positions and six fastest laps, with virtually his entire Formula 1 statistical legacy built during his years at Maranello.

His championship season also coincided with Ferrari’s first Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, making 1961 one of the defining years of the Scuderia’s early World Championship history.

Phil Hill beyond Formula 1

Although this page focuses on Formula 1 records, Hill also achieved major success in sports car racing during his Ferrari career. His achievements included victories in some of endurance racing’s most important events.

His ability to compete successfully in both Formula 1 and sports cars made him an important figure in Ferrari’s international racing programme during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Phil Hill circuit records

Hill’s three Formula 1 victories came at Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, while his podium and qualifying record also included strong performances at circuits such as Monaco, the Nürburgring and Zandvoort.

For circuit-specific history, Ferrari wins, qualifying records and lap records, visit the F1 Circuit Records & Statistics database.

How Phil Hill’s F1 records are calculated

The statistics on this page are generated from locally processed historical Formula 1 data. Career totals, constructor records, Ferrari-specific results and season-by-season statistics are calculated separately so that Hill’s achievements with each constructor remain correctly attributed.

Official race starts are treated separately from entries, qualifying attempts and events in which a driver was entered but did not start. This distinction is particularly important for Hill because later Formula 1 entries did not add to his official career start total.

Historical championship scoring is also treated separately from race-result points. This allows the career, constructor and season totals to reconcile while preserving the official championship positions produced by the dropped-score systems used during Hill’s era.

Explore more Ferrari Formula 1 driver records

This Phil Hill profile is part of the Ferrari F1 Driver Records & Statistics database, covering current and former Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 drivers.

You can also explore the wider ScuderiaFans Formula 1 Statistics section for circuit records, fastest laps, qualifying analysis, race performance and other Ferrari-focused historical data.